Dedicated

Joshua 5:13–14 KJV 1900

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

Joshua 5:15–6:1 KJV 1900

And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.

Joshua 6:2–3 KJV 1900

And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

Joshua 6:4–5 KJV 1900

And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

Introduction

Dedication is an descriptive concept. For something to be dedicated, it must be out of the ordinary. So it is with the city of Jericho in our passage this morning. Alone of the cities of Canaan, this city contained a relative of Jesus. Alone among the cities, it had followed closely each of the events of the previous 40 years of Israel’s History. But this morning, the mercy of God is about to be removed from this singular city. Dedication and faith go hand in hand in the miracle at Jericho.

We need to be looking throughout the book for our theme for 2025. The central focus of the book of Joshua is that God wants us to move forward and take ahold of the blessings of our salvation.

Joshua 1:11 KJV 1900

Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.

As we saw in our study of Ephesians, God has blessed us with spiritual blessings. All the saved have access to these blessings. Do we share them with the lost? Do we live them faithfully in our lives? Do we thank God for them daily? The book of Joshua leads us along the path of living the victorious Christian life. All we need to live victoriously, we already have in Christ. We must just cross over the river of fear and take ownership of the land of Promise!

The significance of Jericho for us is seen in its central place in the narrative of Joshua. Before this battle, the people are just strangers in the land of Promise. Afterwards, they are victors living the life that God has given them for as long as they obey Him. The city of Jericho needed to be removed for the people to clearly see the work of God in the daily challenges of Caanan.

What is holding us back from victory? There is a word used multiple times in the chapter that we will look at this morning. That word is translated “accursed” and is connected to the idea of dedication. The dedication of the city was to destruction. So is all that we have in life. We cannot take it with us. It means nothing in comparison to our salvation which lasts forever. Instead, we need to count it all as loss for Christ.

Philippians 3:7–8 KJV 1900

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

Declaration

Faith is exercised when we live out the truth that every victory begins with the work of God. The subject of the chapter is dedication. Is your faith dedicated to the leading of the Lord? This morning we see three examples of dedication around the city of Jericho.

1. Dedicated Ground

Joshua 5:13–6:5 KJV 1900

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

The passage begins with Dedicated Ground. Joshua is near the city of Jericho. He sees Someone standing with a drawn sword. This Person is God Himself. Moses had referred to God as such before,

Exodus 15:3 KJV 1900

The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.

A. Dedicated Ground is God’s alone v. 13-14

Joshua approaches this Person with a question. He sees the coming battle as a contest between two opposing forces. Which side is this Person on? We see here the that the Person introduces Himself as the Captain of the Lord’s Host. Instead of answering Joshua, the Captain clarifies the sides. Instead of being on Joshua’s side or the enemies, they should be on His side.

The Captain is pointing to the Lord’s presence in the battle ahead. The fact that God was there for Joshua means that God is the One who will bring the victory no matter the challenge ahead. God met Joshua exactly where He needed to see Him. God knew that Joshua needed to know that the battle was the Lord’s alone. He would bring the victory without any contribution from Joshua and the people but obedience.

B. Dedicated Ground is where worship takes place v. 15

The Captain further shows the dedication of the ground when He tells Joshua to remove his shoe. This was an act of respect and honor to the holiness of the place. Moses did the same at the burning bush near the foot of Sinai.

Exodus 3:5 KJV 1900

And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Joshua worships the Captain. Thus we see that he realized that this was God Himself. This image of God as a messenger holding a sword and accepting worship has been seen before in the story of Israel. God met Balaam the same way.

Numbers 22:31 KJV 1900

Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

C. Dedicated Ground is where direction is given v. 1-5

Be Strong Joshua 5:13–15

In Christian ministry great public victories are won in private as leaders submit to the Lord and receive their directions from Him. It’s doubtful that anybody in the camp of Israel knew about their leader’s meeting with the Lord, but that meeting made the difference between success and failure on the battlefield. The Chinese Bible teacher Watchman Nee wrote, “Not until we take the place of a servant can He take His place as Lord.”

Joshua is spoken to by the Lord in verses 2-5. The situation was ready for God’s plan. The city of Jericho was cut off from the rest of the land as we see in verse 1. Traveling around the city with horns and shouts surely was not what Joshua expected. But the promise of God had been in Deuteronomy that He would work through His people to see victory in the land.

Deuteronomy 33:7 KJV 1900

And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, And bring him unto his people: Let his hands be sufficient for him; And be thou an help to him from his enemies.

In the instructions that God gives, one of the central acts of faith in the chapter was to be the shout of the people. They were commanded to shout with a “great shout” in verse 5. When the shout occurred, the result is the flattening of the walls of the city. In the book of Psalms we read,

Psalm 89:15 KJV 1900

Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.

God tells Joshua, when the walls come done, the people are to go straight ahead and take the city. The dedicated ground or holy ground around the city was a place where God spoke to Joshua what He had in store for him and the people. How is your dedicated ground? Are you looking for God to bring victory in your life personally and spiritually. Joshua could have fled from this Captain. Joshua could have ignored Him. Instead, Joshua learned that God had a plan that was sure to bring victory, though he may not have seen how. One commentator pointed out why there could be confidence in these commands of God,

Joshua: No Falling Words Joshua 6:6–15

it is the ark of Yahweh that holds centre stage. The chapter refers to the ark ten times, nine of which are in these verses. It is Yahweh’s presence in the midst of his people that will make the difference.

First, we see that there is Dedicated Ground. Joshua prepared his heart before the battle in communion with God Himself.

2. Dedicated Victory

Joshua 6:6–24 KJV 1900

And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord. And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the Lord, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.

There is Dedicated Victory. In verses 6-24, we see the familiar story of the fall of Jericho is told. The people travel around the city once each day for six days. On the seventh day, they travel around it seven times. There is a continuous emphasis on the number seven in this chapter. This connects to the days of the week that God created the world. It connects to the idea of completeness in the seven priests with the trumpets and the seven times around on the day of Sabbath rest. The number seven is used in Scripture to show an idea of completion or perfection.

Joshua tells the people that the city was dedicated to God. The people were about to fight a victory picturing the power of God. There is about to be perfection through God as the people win their first battle in the land of Canaan. As the people go around the city, they are to be silent. No noise of their mouth or any other sound is to be heard. When they arrive at the city, there is to be a shout and that shout is connected to the truth that the city has been given by God to them.

Everything in the city is “accursed”. This word is connected to two very important actions regarding the objects inside the city of Jericho. All the possessions in the city are to become the property of God’s treasury alone. They are dedicated to Him. The people in the city are to dedicated to destruction. Everyone is to be killed except for Rahab. Because it has been conquered, all that is in the city is the property of God as victor.

Leviticus 27:28 KJV 1900

Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the Lord of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord.

The people follow the instructions given by God and passed on by Joshua. They carry out the plan of God to perfection. All is ready for the final portion of their attack. In verse 20, we come to the action that had been commanded for the victory of the people. They shout and sound the war cry . This was a shout that was like a trumpet in its loudness. When the people hear the ram’s horns sound long, they lift their voices as well in rejoicing in the victory that is found in God alone. As the song says, “Sound the battle cry/See the foe is nigh.” The walls fall flat and the city is taken. Faith has become sight.

So it is in the life of the Christian. The victory over the death is won by Jesus Christ. We are saved because of His sacrifice for us. When God wins a battle, He alone receives the glory. The old saying goes, “to the Victor goes the spoils.” Everything in the city was to be given to God or completely destroyed.

1 Corinthians 15:56–57 KJV 1900

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The victory of the Christian over the world is not through our own resistance. It is not because of our choice to live right or strive for constant perfection. Instead, it is the work of Christ deep inside of us. Our relationship with Him is the dedicated victory.

1 John 5:4 KJV 1900

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

The victories of the Christian life occur when God gets the glory for growth in our lives. The victory at Jericho was not a strategic masterpiece. It was a spiritual centerpiece - Jericho was to serve as a pattern for every victory because God was the God of war and the people were to be people of obedience. There is Dedicated Victory.

3. Dedicated Salvation

Joshua 6:25–27 KJV 1900

And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.

There is Dedicated Salvation. God’s mercy was on Rahab and her family. As we saw in chapter 2, Rahab was a woman of faith. She knew that God had given the land of Canaan to the Israelites. She saw the victories at the Red Sea and over the Amorites as proof of God’s Promises. The writer of Hebrews sums up this chapter thus,

Hebrews 11:30–31 KJV 1900

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

The salvation of Rahab was dedicated to God. It was based on faith. How is your salvation? Are you trusting in yourself to get to heaven? Are you trying to work out your own path based on the good things that you do? Only the blood of Christ can save you from your sins.

Isaiah 53:6 KJV 1900

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Rahab had faith based on the continued visible working of God in her life. We should follow her example and grow in our faith. Rahab is a picture of the Gentile Christian. Though we are not part of the people of the covenant, the Jews, we have the blessing of believing in Christ because of the grace of God. Our salvation means that we are dedicated to God. Rahab will become part of the lineage of the Messiah because of her faith in God. One writer says it this way,

Be Strong Chapter Six: The Conquest Begins! (Joshua 6)

The only way to grow in faith is to accept new challenges and trust God to give you victory. “Do not pray for easy lives,” said Phillips Brooks; “pray to be better men and women. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for power equal to your tasks.”

There is Dedicated Salvation. Only God could save Rahab. When He saved her only from the city dedicated to destruction, she became part of His plan to bring redemption to mankind. We too have been saved to be dedicated to Him and the preaching of His Gospel.

Conclusion

Faith is exercised when we live out the truth that every victory begins with the work of God. The subject of the chapter is dedication. Is your faith dedicated to the leading of the Lord?

The act of faith is important to this passage. Joshua had a binary view of the world. For him, the decision was between Israel or Jericho. God has a singular view of victory. God calls Joshua to a decision for dedication. He learns a valuable lesson. We stand on holy ground. God is the one who will do the work. It was God's city. It was God's people. It was God's victory. Wherever God is working is holy ground. Dedication is needed in the battles of our lives. The city was dedicated to either total consecration to God or utter destruction. There was no middle ground in the battle.

Christian, what is the state of dedication in your life?

Do you stand of dedicated ground? Joshua was careful to worship and follow the leading of God first in his life. Where did he get his instructions? He listened for the command of God Himself.

Does God get the glory from your victories? The people could not say that they had defeated the city. Joshua could not claim to be the great general. There was a dedicated victory at the miracle of Jericho.

Are you a dedicated to the Victor? Rahab lived by faith in the midst of a wicked, pagan city. Salvation occurs when we choose to believe by faith the promise of God. God promises that Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient to remove forever your sin. You can accept that guarantee by faith and experience salvation today. Salvation is the beginning of a life of dedication.

Romans 5:1–2 KJV 1900

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.